Inazuma Eleven listed for North American release by Nintendo

Inazuma Eleven looks to be making its way to North America at last, although Nintendo of America is being tight-lipped about the prospect.

The Coming Soon section of Nintendo of America’s release calendar shows a 3DS Inazuma Eleven title scheduled for the first quarter. although Nintendo has not made any official announcement on the subject.

Gematsu has its money on Inazuma Eleven 1･2･3!! Endou Mamoru Densetsu, a compilation of the first three games rejigged for 3DS release; the site quite reasonably argues that these titles have already been localised in English, making them excellent candidates for North American release.

Inazuma (“lightning” in Japanese) Eleven is a sports RPG franchise from Level-5, the developer of Professor Layton and Ni No Kuni. The original series spanned three games, all of which were released in Europe by Nintendo, while a second series subtitled GO also produced three titles, which have not been localised. The earlier games are DS exclusives; later titles appeared only on the 3DS. The soccer games regularly chart strongly in Japan, and the franchise has spawned anime and manga adaptations.